Possibilities
by KeyKnows
Summary: "I thought I was gonna make it" Naruto says, "We all did" Sasuke responds. Sometimes happy endings aren't really a thing. You have to live with it, defy it, or drink it away. The Hokage seems to be inclined for the last option.


_Naruto doesn't belong to me_

 _Enjoy~_

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Possibilities

"You know…" Naruto says after a while, not looking at him but at the glass firmly clenched in his fist "I thought that I was gonna make it".

"We all did" Sasuke responds, even though he isn't that sure what Naruto is talking about. He usually trails off and speak nonsense most of the time, and when he is drinking it's way worst.

"No, no" The Hokage shocks his head, violently, causing himself nausea but not caring at all for the uneasy feeling of the world spinning around "I mean…before, I— I didn't doubt I was gonna make it".

Through what? Sasuke wants to ask, but there's way too many times Naruto's life was in danger and Sasuke doesn't feel like making him go through the process of picking one to make sense of whatever he's saying. Besides, asking for more sake seems like a better idea.

"It just seemed so…logical" Naruto continues like Sasuke is not so obviously ignoring him in favor of drinking "I mean I worked hard and I had— "hiccup " I had so many friends to hel— "hiccup "help me."

There's a moment of silence in which the low murmur of the bar rises around them. They're in a small town, not far away from Konoha, in their way to Suna. Or that's what Naruto told Sasuke he told everyone on town. Sasuke is still not sure how exactly he got away with such an obvious lie but he's not complaining. He thinks there was probably some kind of planning behind and Sasuke can imagine Gaara having to help Naruto out in this, like sending a letter or something to make the whole thing believable. He isn't sure either how the Kazekage feels about helping Naruto sneak out of town.

Thinking about it, right now, seems like a bad idea, because he can't really have a hold of his thoughts for very long. They have been drinking for…he cannot tell, but they have been drinking for a while now.

He realizes Naruto is practically laying on him, tugging his tunic with a hand and holding his drink like his life depends on it with the other. Sasuke never got his arm back, he's not sure why he never came back to have it done.

Sasuke looks at Naruto, and the look the Hokage has is so utterly _pathetic_ , he feels like he should scowl at it, but between the alcohol in his system and the way Naruto is clinging to him, he doesn't find the strength to do so.

Naruto is wearing a straw hat to hide himself; he is a rather public figure easily recognize. Under the hat, he's looking at Sasuke with big, red eyes, the shadow of tears hiding behind them. He hasn't cry in a lot of time, and Naruto doesn't want to start here. He looks so lost and broken and _sad_. Sasuke feels like looking away but he can't run away from Naruto, not now, not anymore, so he holds his gaze and waits.

After an eternity, in which they get a suspicious look for the barman, Naruto finally says, voice low and slightly shaking:

"Why I didn't make it through, Sasuke?"

Sasuke still doesn't know what he's talking about. It should be obvious by now, but for some reason the thought eludes him.

"I don't know" he finally whispers.

Naruto's gaze falls to the ground and for a moment Sasuke thinks he's actually crying, but then Naruto looks at him again, some of his usual determination in his blue, wet eyes.

"I had everything, Sasuke, everything to make it through. Even when…even when you weren't there, when I fought you, all the time…I could have made it thought, Sasuke, why didn't I…why…"

Naruto doesn't feel like looking at Sasuke anymore, so he just lets himself fall and nests his face in Sasuke's chest and inhales. And exhales. And Inhales. He's not crying yet, but he's near, and he wants to say everything he has to say before his voice is too shaky.

"I could have made it through, Sasuke" he says again, his voice muffled against the fabric of Sasuke's clothes "I—" he hiccups and curses himself and his low tolerance to alcohol "I had everything and I fucked up".

Sasuke wants to beat the shit out of him for hearing him say that. How, exactly, Naruto fucked up? He accomplished his dream of becoming Hokage, he's a fucking war hero, he even actually brought him back from the hell Sasuke had buried himself into, he has a family and…

Oh.

Oh. Now, now things were starting to make a little sense, as much as things can when one is kind of drunk, at least.

So it was about that. Sasuke can't believe he actually _forgot_ about the whole family thing. It's easy to forget when Naruto is beside him and there's sake in the middle, and they're not in Konoha. Not like Sasuke spends a lot of time there, anyway.

"I don't know" he says again, because he seriously doesn't know.

It had seemed so difficult, back then, to have what they really wanted. It had seemed so difficult and they were so afraid. Which is kinda of stupid, because Naruto had already gone to hell and back for _him_ , what make it so difficult to do it again? What make it so difficult for Sasuke to return the fucking favor?

It had seemed so easy to listen to everyone else. Because Hinata is such a good girl, Naruto, everyone said, even Sakura said, Hinata does love you Naruto, she's good for you Naruto. She's everything a man could wish, Naruto.

And she is, kind of, because she isn't a bad person, and she does love Naruto, and she's a good housewife and she's a competent enough ninja so yeah: Every man's dream.

And Sasuke, Sakura is _actually_ willing to forgive all the shit you did, how could you say no, Sasuke? No one said, but everyone thought, and the worst was they were right; how could he deny redemption when it was being served before him so offhandedly? And, damn it all, he needed to rebuild to Uchiha clan.

Sasuke downs his drink quickly and urges Naruto to get up before he fells sleep. Naruto mumbles as he gets up, and Sasuke has to adjust his hat before it falls. Sasuke pays the bill, or more accurately he just leaves a bunch of money in the bar. Or _more_ accurately he leaves a bunch Naruto's money in the bar; or _even more_ accurately he leaves a lot of Konoha's taxes money in the bar. He doesn't dwell on it: if Naruto doesn't care then he has no reasons to care about it either.

He helps Naruto to walk to the exit and then they make their way to the town's outskirts, stumbling on thin air and looking like your every day drunk man. They could have paid for an inn, but they didn't want to go through the suspicious gaze they always got, they aren't sure if people looks weird at them because they recognize Naruto or because they ask for just one room, with just one bed. In any case, they aren't up to that anymore, so they looked for a nice place to camp at the forest and decided to stay there for as long it was necessary.

They had found a cave not very far into the forest.

When they get there, Naruto is a little less dizzy and can walk for himself, but he doesn't let go of Sasuke. They get into the cave and go to set camp, even though they still kind of stumble in thin air. When their to be bed is ready, Sasuke starts a fire to warm the place up and they sit, side by side, against the cold cave's wall.

They spend a lot of time in silence, until Naruto asks, yet again, why _they_ didn't make it through. Sasuke can think of a couple reasons why he, in particular, didn't, but none of them apply to Naruto, so he stays silent looking at the fire, with his only arm curled around Naruto's shoulders and Naruto's head in the curve of his neck.

Naruto keeps talking, about how he worked so hard and hoped so hard, and how at the very end, it seemed like he was gonna get a happy ever after, how it all seemed to fall too perfectly into place.

"But then you didn't stay" Naruto says, without remorse or hurt, just stating a fact. Still Sasuke flinches "And I thought that then it was just a matter of time but…"

But _everything_. Like suddenly everything was at peace, and look Naruto, the girls suddenly like you, and look Naruto, Hinata made you a scarf and when he realized he was Hokage, and he was married and he had kids.

"And maybe…maybe that was the happy ending, you know?"

No, Sasuke doesn't know, because he never had such ideas. His life, he was sure even after peace, was not gonna be as simple.

"But it wasn't" Naruto finishes with fatality, looking at the distance, beyond the fire, beyond the cave, beyond his life "It isn't".

Sasuke doesn't know what to tell him, there's nothing he can tell him that Naruto doesn't already know, or hasn't think about.

"Would you go back to the village?" Naruto asks, suddenly, still not looking at him.

"No" finally a question Sasuke can answer "Not yet, anyway."

"You have a daughter there, you know."

He knows.

"I know."

"Then why—?"

"It would be unfair" Sasuke cuts him "Coming back saying it's for her, when it's not."

And Naruto would like to yell him for being such a dick at his own daughter, but it's not like he's handling parenthood any better. At least Sasuke is being sincere about it.

"You don't care about her?" He asks, sincerely curious.

"It's not that I don't care "Sasuke starts, because he pretty much cares about the Uchiha clan, and maybe that doesn't exactly count as caring for his daughter but… "I just…what would I do there, anyway? I can't live with Sakura". _I can't do what you do_.

"And Sakura would kill you the moment she saw you".

Yeah, that too.

"So…are you ever coming back?" Naruto asks with a tiny voice, like he's trying to hide. He sounds almost like a child.

"Yes" Sasuke assures him, because like it or not he has daughter and he has to eventually go to actually meet her and teach him stuff about the sharingan and all that. He doesn't want to think in the possibility that his years of absence would affect all that. "Yes, I'll go back, but I don't know when".

Naruto hums, moving a little to be even closer to Sasuke.

"Do you think…" He hesitates, looking at the fire like looking for answers there rather than in the other "Do you think we'll make it through, this time?"

Sasuke would like to say yes, but saying so would be like running away from reality, like pretending all there is around them is not.

"I don't know".

That's all he seems to can say anymore.

"Me neither" Naruto agrees.

And it's hard seeing someone who once changed the world with his will, and passion and hope, being so utterly defeat by the uncertainty of daily life.

* * *

 _I have literally no reasons to have written this, like I was reading DBZ fanfiction and suddenly I had this idea? Like pretty random, you know. Also I don't know why I wrote it in English, I mean, that's not my native language but the story just wanted to be write in English so?_

 _But anyway, I hope you enjoyed this at least a little, every review will be highly appreciated and if you have something to say about the grammar and stuff I will be more than happy to listen :3_

 _(Also, this is probably, most likely kinda OOC I'm sorry I haven't read the new manga and I honestly don't want to so yeah)_


End file.
